MANILA – The oil exploration deal in East Palawan Basin inked between the Philippines and Israel-based firm Ratio Petroleum Ltd. is constitutional, Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.
Panelo was referring to the agreement which would allow Ratio Petroleum to explore Area 4 or the 416,000 hectares across the East Palawan Basin for potential oil and gas resources.
“I think so. We feel that the Constitution does not prevent us from signing these particular kind of agreements,” Panelo said when asked if the deal is within the bounds of the Constitution.
Article 12, Section 12 of the 1987 Constitution provides that “all lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the State” and that the “exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the state.”
Likewise, the same provision reads that the state is allowed to enter into a co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or associations whose at least 60 percent of capital is owned by Filipinos.
The Energy department’s news release was silent on the ownership of Ratio Petroleum Ltd. Instead, the Energy department described it as a firm which has a number of large-scale operations at the Levant Basin in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Israel, as well as off-shore operations in the Republic of Malta and the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.
Panelo said that the deal would boost the country’s energy resources.
“The President has always been for energy security and stability, and we expect this to get going at the soonest possible time kasi ang problema natin eh wala tayong oil compared with other countries,” Panelo said.
“This will definitely help our country,” he added. (GMA News)
